Order of the Dogwood

The Order of the Dogwood was the province of British Columbia's highest civilian honour for public service from 1966 to 1989. Only thirteen individuals were ever granted this honour.

The predecessor to the Order of the Dogwood, called the Dogwood Medallion, was created by the provincial government in 1958 to mark the centennial of the establishment of the Colony of British Columbia. The Order of the Dogwood was created by Order in Council during a provincial Cabinet meeting held at Fort Langley on November 19, 1966 to mark the centennial of the union of the Colony of British Columbia with the Colony of Vancouver Island. Immediately following the Cabinet meeting, Lieutenant Governor George Pearkes (a future recipient of the honour) gave consent to the creation of the honour, which was then presented to the first recipients at the "Douglas Day" dinner that ensued. The first five recipients were Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Viscount Amory (then Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company), Sir Robert Bellinger (then Lord Mayor of London), Clarence Wallace, and Frank Mackenzie Ross; Bellinger and Ross were present for the ceremony.

The Order of the Dogwood was the highest provincial honour until 1989, when it was replaced by the Order of British Columbia. The last person granted the Order of the Dogwood was Terry Fox, who received it in 1980.

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